Getting dirty

This weekend, daecabhir and I traveled to Hanover, PA, to visit Terry and Judy Tessem so that I could learn some new pottery tricks from Terry. Traffic made us about an hour later than we had planned to arrive, and Mr. Tessem, not known for his patience, was getting nervous. He'd also moved things further along than originally planned - but that's okay.

Learning from Terry can be a bit like drinking from a fire hose - you have to be ready for it and it's going to be messy. He had teapots staged for us (he makes daecabhir work on what I am learning) and showed us his secret spout method - small vases. He throws small vases off the mound, cuts them to fit the pot, and once they are attached it's just amazing. While we cut the pour holes through the pot, attached spouts, and then blended the seams in, Terry was throwing lids and attaching the handles.

Next up was making piggy banks. Terry had thrown and altered the vessels that become the body, and we attached ears, eyes, legs, and tail, as well as cutting the coin slot. Terry went back and re-did the tails that we put on and made them much better looking.

Saturday evening, the four of us went to a local Japanese steakhouse for a delicious with with delightful company. The sweet potato tempura rolls were scrumptious.

On Sunday we returned to the studio in the hopes of doing a raku firing or two but Mother Nature was not cooperating. Instead, Terry had used the morning to stage some of the big vases he throws. These huge pots are done in two pieces which he puts together, removes any trace of the seam, and then collars the tops in and adjusts the shape as needed. He's amazing to watch in action, his hands glide over the clay magically and things form very quickly.

After the two large vases were done, Terry threw some dinner plates which - of course - he made look so very easy. My quick-thinking daecabhir got some video footage for me to refer back which will be such a huge help. Once a half dozen or so plates had been taken off the wheel, Terry started throwing off the mound - a process I had not seen in person nor attempted as of yet. In a very short period of time, Terry had created several small vases, bowls, a ring holder, a chalice, a pestle, a cruet top, and I am not even sure what else. He churns them out at an amazing rate. The throwing part is very fast; it's the trimming that takes most of the production time.

Since the shelves were full pots by now, we headed over to the glazing area to watch Terry glaze a few pots. Usually his niece and Judy do the glazing nowadays, but it was still nice to see his set up.

After a yummy lunch, we said goodbye to Judy who had an afternoon art class to attend and then the three of us headed over to Starr Pottery. Tom Starr and Terry have been friends for a very long time. There are a few distinct similarities between Terry's and Tom's pottery - namely because over the years they have shared drape molds and glazes. Tom's gas kiln that he built himself is a really beauty. A very nice tri-color coffee mug came home with me.

Hugging Terry goodbye, we hit the road for home ... my head filled with thoughts of clay.